Hi! I'm Chelle. Through Clean Eating and Exercise, I changed my life! I've lost 80+ lbs, and kept them off for 10 years. I'm a certified Fertility Counselor and coach, certified Nutritionist, and certified Personal Trainer.

Friday, February 22, 2013

I will NOT coast downhill...

I'm down to the last week of prep for The Arnold. Now, granted, I had to pull back from my crazy-ass extreme prep because my body said, "Oh, HELL NO!",but I'm still bustin' it - lifting plus 20 min cardio in the a.m., then 40 min cardio in the p.m., clean and lean diet with carefully chosen and timed carbs... it's tough stuff and not for the faint of heart (though - to be honest ;-) hehe, I am drinking my coffee black, but still enjoying my red wine - all things in balance, folks).

All this while doing everything I can to preserve the muscle I've worked so hard for (thank you BCAA's, protein, and EFA's). My joints thank me for the change in program (and I thank Tabitha, the Worlds's Greatest Trainer and my BFF for knocking some sense into me and reminding me that I am NOT doing a show right now, lol), my brain thanks me for the carbs (lol) - oh, and so does my family ;-)

Anyway... this is the last week. Anytime I've done special event prep, whether it be photo shoots, special occasion, competition, whatever - the last week is the hardest. This is when my brain says (in a Wayne's World voice), "dude-ette, chill out - you've worked hard, you can coast now." Um, NO. No, I cannot coast. I must finish what I've started. I have a week to go. And I will finish. My journey toward this goal is not complete. And I will finish.

Let me repeat. I WILL FINISH.

But it kinda sucks, I'm not ashamed to say. ;-) Don't get me wrong. I'm fit. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I have a great self-image and I'm confident and comfortable in my own skin. So why am I working so hard??? I suppose you could liken special event prep to makeup. It doesn't rearrange your face, but it can be used to enhance and highlight strengths (while minimizing weaknesses, lol - thank you makeup gods for industrial strength concealer).

So... all these weeks of prep - they're just makeup. And aren't there days we all (ladies, I'm talkin' to you) want to ditch the makeup bag? That's where I'm at. I even had to fight myself today to put on actual makeup to go to the store because it seemed like too much damn effort. Yep, this is trouble-week. Nothing seems worth the effort. I just want to coast. Chill. Rest on my proverbial laurels.

Not gonna happen.

I'm so looking forward to attending the Arnold this year - especially because my hubby is joining me. I'm beyond thrilled to represent again as an Eat Clean Diet Ambassador at the booth (please come say hi when you visit with Tosca!!!), as well as finally meet face-to-face my amazing sponsor Mike at Champion Nutrition USA! It's an exciting year for me in many ways. And still - I struggle.

For all of you who've asked me, what do you do when motivation lags .. here it is, folks. It's lagging. And what I do? Same thing I've done before (and told you to do, lol) - I put one foot in front of the other. I do what I need to do and try not to think about it. Cardio is on autopilot - I'm just burning calories, nothing more - I watch movies during my long sessions - no kidding. I've burned through Hunger Games, Transformers 3, The Mummy, and just started The Mummy Returns tonight. Don't think, Just Do. That's key for me. If I think about it, I might be able to talk myself out of it. Not an option. So I just do what's next. I embrace my inner Sweat-Slut ;-) and shower. A lot. Thank goodness for coconut oil and my amazing sugar-scrub!

And because I have to laugh or I go nuts, I must give a huge shout out to Pam on FB who posted this on my wall today... Pam - you had me rolling! The hubby thought I'd lost my mind. I so very much needed this, and thank you (THANK YOU) for thinking of me when you saw it.

Nope. Not done yet! ;-)

Tonight, I am in a peaceful state of mind. My work is done (for the day), everything is on track, and the hubby is home and chilling beside me. Best part? He promised we could watch the UFC fight tomorrow night (Rousey vs Carmouche) - I am so excited!!! I will gladly suffer through his Gold Rush marathon tonight, so I can see my fight tomorrow! YAY!!! Who else is tuning in? Who you cheering for??

Then, just to cap off my laugh needs... a little girl (I mean LITTLE - like 5 years old) came to the door tonight selling girl scout cookies. I sent the hubby to answer and after he bought 2 boxes (the Samoas are MINE, I just can't have them yet), she said in her sweet childish voice, "I have a question for you, Mister." "Yes?" he said. "Are you Santa Clause?" "Not today" he replied, "Why, do I look like him?" "No, but you sure sound like him!"

I'm down to the last week of prep for The Arnold. Now, granted, I had to pull back from my crazy-ass extreme prep because my body said, "Oh, HELL NO!",but I'm still bustin' it - lifting plus 20 min cardio in the a.m., then 40 min cardio in the p.m., clean and lean diet with carefully chosen and timed carbs... it's tough stuff and not for the faint of heart (though - to be honest ;-) hehe, I am drinking my coffee black, but still enjoying my red wine - all things in balance, folks).

All this while doing everything I can to preserve the muscle I've worked so hard for (thank you BCAA's, protein, and EFA's). My joints thank me for the change in program (and I thank Tabitha, the Worlds's Greatest Trainer and my BFF for knocking some sense into me and reminding me that I am NOT doing a show right now, lol), my brain thanks me for the carbs (lol) - oh, and so does my family ;-)

Anyway... this is the last week. Anytime I've done special event prep, whether it be photo shoots, special occasion, competition, whatever - the last week is the hardest. This is when my brain says (in a Wayne's World voice), "dude-ette, chill out - you've worked hard, you can coast now." Um, NO. No, I cannot coast. I must finish what I've started. I have a week to go. And I will finish. My journey toward this goal is not complete. And I will finish.

Let me repeat. I WILL FINISH.

But it kinda sucks, I'm not ashamed to say. ;-) Don't get me wrong. I'm fit. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I have a great self-image and I'm confident and comfortable in my own skin. So why am I working so hard??? I suppose you could liken special event prep to makeup. It doesn't rearrange your face, but it can be used to enhance and highlight strengths (while minimizing weaknesses, lol - thank you makeup gods for industrial strength concealer).

So... all these weeks of prep - they're just makeup. And aren't there days we all (ladies, I'm talkin' to you) want to ditch the makeup bag? That's where I'm at. I even had to fight myself today to put on actual makeup to go to the store because it seemed like too much damn effort. Yep, this is trouble-week. Nothing seems worth the effort. I just want to coast. Chill. Rest on my proverbial laurels.

Not gonna happen.

I'm so looking forward to attending the Arnold this year - especially because my hubby is joining me. I'm beyond thrilled to represent again as an Eat Clean Diet Ambassador at the booth (please come say hi when you visit with Tosca!!!), as well as finally meet face-to-face my amazing sponsor Mike at Champion Nutrition USA! It's an exciting year for me in many ways. And still - I struggle.

For all of you who've asked me, what do you do when motivation lags .. here it is, folks. It's lagging. And what I do? Same thing I've done before (and told you to do, lol) - I put one foot in front of the other. I do what I need to do and try not to think about it. Cardio is on autopilot - I'm just burning calories, nothing more - I watch movies during my long sessions - no kidding. I've burned through Hunger Games, Transformers 3, The Mummy, and just started The Mummy Returns tonight. Don't think, Just Do. That's key for me. If I think about it, I might be able to talk myself out of it. Not an option. So I just do what's next. I embrace my inner Sweat-Slut ;-) and shower. A lot. Thank goodness for coconut oil and my amazing sugar-scrub!

And because I have to laugh or I go nuts, I must give a huge shout out to Pam on FB who posted this on my wall today... Pam - you had me rolling! The hubby thought I'd lost my mind. I so very much needed this, and thank you (THANK YOU) for thinking of me when you saw it.

Nope. Not done yet! ;-)

Tonight, I am in a peaceful state of mind. My work is done (for the day), everything is on track, and the hubby is home and chilling beside me. Best part? He promised we could watch the UFC fight tomorrow night (Rousey vs Carmouche) - I am so excited!!! I will gladly suffer through his Gold Rush marathon tonight, so I can see my fight tomorrow! YAY!!! Who else is tuning in? Who you cheering for??

Then, just to cap off my laugh needs... a little girl (I mean LITTLE - like 5 years old) came to the door tonight selling girl scout cookies. I sent the hubby to answer and after he bought 2 boxes (the Samoas are MINE, I just can't have them yet), she said in her sweet childish voice, "I have a question for you, Mister." "Yes?" he said. "Are you Santa Clause?" "Not today" he replied, "Why, do I look like him?" "No, but you sure sound like him!"

I'm down to the last week of prep for The Arnold. Now, granted, I had to pull back from my crazy-ass extreme prep because my body said, "Oh, HELL NO!",but I'm still bustin' it - lifting plus 20 min cardio in the a.m., then 40 min cardio in the p.m., clean and lean diet with carefully chosen and timed carbs... it's tough stuff and not for the faint of heart (though - to be honest ;-) hehe, I am drinking my coffee black, but still enjoying my red wine - all things in balance, folks).

All this while doing everything I can to preserve the muscle I've worked so hard for (thank you BCAA's, protein, and EFA's). My joints thank me for the change in program (and I thank Tabitha, the Worlds's Greatest Trainer and my BFF for knocking some sense into me and reminding me that I am NOT doing a show right now, lol), my brain thanks me for the carbs (lol) - oh, and so does my family ;-)

Anyway... this is the last week. Anytime I've done special event prep, whether it be photo shoots, special occasion, competition, whatever - the last week is the hardest. This is when my brain says (in a Wayne's World voice), "dude-ette, chill out - you've worked hard, you can coast now." Um, NO. No, I cannot coast. I must finish what I've started. I have a week to go. And I will finish. My journey toward this goal is not complete. And I will finish.

Let me repeat. I WILL FINISH.

But it kinda sucks, I'm not ashamed to say. ;-) Don't get me wrong. I'm fit. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I have a great self-image and I'm confident and comfortable in my own skin. So why am I working so hard??? I suppose you could liken special event prep to makeup. It doesn't rearrange your face, but it can be used to enhance and highlight strengths (while minimizing weaknesses, lol - thank you makeup gods for industrial strength concealer).

So... all these weeks of prep - they're just makeup. And aren't there days we all (ladies, I'm talkin' to you) want to ditch the makeup bag? That's where I'm at. I even had to fight myself today to put on actual makeup to go to the store because it seemed like too much damn effort. Yep, this is trouble-week. Nothing seems worth the effort. I just want to coast. Chill. Rest on my proverbial laurels.

Not gonna happen.

I'm so looking forward to attending the Arnold this year - especially because my hubby is joining me. I'm beyond thrilled to represent again as an Eat Clean Diet Ambassador at the booth (please come say hi when you visit with Tosca!!!), as well as finally meet face-to-face my amazing sponsor Mike at Champion Nutrition USA! It's an exciting year for me in many ways. And still - I struggle.

For all of you who've asked me, what do you do when motivation lags .. here it is, folks. It's lagging. And what I do? Same thing I've done before (and told you to do, lol) - I put one foot in front of the other. I do what I need to do and try not to think about it. Cardio is on autopilot - I'm just burning calories, nothing more - I watch movies during my long sessions - no kidding. I've burned through Hunger Games, Transformers 3, The Mummy, and just started The Mummy Returns tonight. Don't think, Just Do. That's key for me. If I think about it, I might be able to talk myself out of it. Not an option. So I just do what's next. I embrace my inner Sweat-Slut ;-) and shower. A lot. Thank goodness for coconut oil and my amazing sugar-scrub!

And because I have to laugh or I go nuts, I must give a huge shout out to Pam on FB who posted this on my wall today... Pam - you had me rolling! The hubby thought I'd lost my mind. I so very much needed this, and thank you (THANK YOU) for thinking of me when you saw it.

Nope. Not done yet! ;-)

Tonight, I am in a peaceful state of mind. My work is done (for the day), everything is on track, and the hubby is home and chilling beside me. Best part? He promised we could watch the UFC fight tomorrow night (Rousey vs Carmouche) - I am so excited!!! I will gladly suffer through his Gold Rush marathon tonight, so I can see my fight tomorrow! YAY!!! Who else is tuning in? Who you cheering for??

Then, just to cap off my laugh needs... a little girl (I mean LITTLE - like 5 years old) came to the door tonight selling girl scout cookies. I sent the hubby to answer and after he bought 2 boxes (the Samoas are MINE, I just can't have them yet), she said in her sweet childish voice, "I have a question for you, Mister." "Yes?" he said. "Are you Santa Clause?" "Not today" he replied, "Why, do I look like him?" "No, but you sure sound like him!"